Newly formed Texas Senate committee to consider ‘constitutional carry’

A newly formed Senate committee is expected to soon consider a bill that would allow handguns to be carried without a permit just days after Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said it didn’t have the votes to pass the upper chamber’s floor.

House Bill 1927 lacks support in the full chamber, according to Patrick’s senior adviser, but it could see success in the new Special Committee on Constitutional Issues in the Senate, which is chaired by two Republicans who have expressed support for the measure. The permitless carry measure is the only legislation referred to the committee. , Patrick oversees the Senate.

“There are still not enough votes in the Senate to pass a permitless carry bill,” Senior Adviser Sherry Sylvester said in a statement. “Today, Lt. Gov. Patrick established some additional options to move a bill forward. He will continue meeting with law enforcement, gun rights stakeholders and Senators on this issue to find consensus and the votes needed to pass.”

A hearing could be coming as soon as next week, said Chair Charles Schwertner in a Friday morning tweet, where he expressed optimism about the bill passing. Granbury Republican Brian Birdwell, the committee’s vice chair, also supports the bill as it was passed out of the House, his chief of staff told the Star-Telegram in an email.

“I am proud to chair the newly created Senate Committee on Constitutional Issues and look forward to hearing this bill next week so we can pass #ConstitutionalCarry this session!,” Schwertner wrote on Twitter.

Schwertner is the author of a similar proposal in the Senate that was filed Thursday. It’s in the Senate Administration committee that Schwertner also chairs.

House Bill 1927 would allow those 21 and older who are legally able to have a firearm to carry a handgun without a license, often called “constitutional carry” by supporters of the policy. Currently, when a person seeks a License to Carry they must provide fingerprints to the Texas Department of Public Safety, go through a criminal history background check and take an LTC course, according to DPS.

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reached out by email Thursday to the offices of Tarrant County’s senators for their position on House Bill 1927. Sen. Beverly Powell, D-Burleson, said she would not support the measure.

“I share so many of the same concerns our police and law enforcement leaders have about permitless carry and will oppose the bill if it comes to the Senate floor,” Powell said in a statement.

Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, and Sen. Kelly Hancock, R-North Richland Hills, did not return requests for comment.

Senators that have expressed support for the House’s permitless carry bill include North Texas Rep. Drew Springer, a Muenster Republican whose district includes parts of Denton and Collin County. In an April 20 statement, Springer said he strongly supports the bill and would vote for it.

“Defending the rights of firearm owners is — and always has been — one of my top priorities,” Schwertner said.

The House passed House Bill 1927 on April 16. On Monday, Patrick said the bill didn’t have enough support to pass.

“If we have the votes to pass a permitless carry bill off the Senate floor, I will move it,” he said at the time.